Things that make me smile #2 – What's the time please?

Last week I was attending an event organized by SIPA related on SOA. While the organizers were setting up things, Jnan Dash (former EVP of Oracle) was one of the speakers on that day and he shared this story (fictional, of course) with us. I am sure you all will enjoy this.

John is changing planes at Chicago airport. He just realizes that he had forgotten his watch. He wants to know the time. There is a person passing by carrying two suitcases one in each hand. John notices that he is wearing a watch. John stops him and asks for time.

The stranger is more than happy to help. He puts both the suitcases on the floor and looks at his VERY interesting watch. The watch looks almost like a TV. He says that his watch is the latest miracle that’s unfolding. The underlying chip was supposed to be Pentium 10. The watch did look cool – almost like a TV. The stranger pressed a few keys and suddenly a beautful woman appeared on the screen. “That’s my secretary…” said the stranger and looked at the display and continued “Mary, can you please tell me the time?”

Mary said “It’s 11.30AM central time. But why do you want to know?” The stranger said “Don’t worry. There is a gentleman here who wants to know the time” and disconnected the call. John was intrigued. He wanted to know more about the watch. It appears that the stranger was actually manufacturing these watches and was selling them for $500 a piece. After a few more minutes John was convinced that he had to have the watch. He convinced the stranger to sell it to him. The stranger agreed. John had the watch and stranger started walking away with $500. After a few seconds, John realized that the stranger had forgotten his suitcases. “Hey there. You forgot your suitcases here” shouted John. The reply was prompt. The stranger shouted back “They are actually the modems for the watch. They are for you” and disappeared in the crowd.